US markets end in green amid reports US, Russia talks to end Ukraine war

19 Feb 2025 Evaluate

The US markets ended in green on Tuesday, after a meeting between Russian and U.S. officials raised hopes of an end to the three-year war in Ukraine. Sentiments remained upbeat with New York Fed stating that its general business conditions index jumped to a positive 5.7 in February after slumping to a negative 12.6 in January, with a positive reading indicating growth. Street had expected the index to climb to a negative 1.0. The bigger than expected rebound by the headline index partly reflected a sharp increase by the new orders index, which spiked to a positive 11.4 in February from a negative 8.6 in January. The report also showed a substantial turnaround by shipments, as the shipments index surged to a positive 14.2 in February from a negative 1.7 in January. Meanwhile, the number of employees index slid to a negative 3.6 in February from a positive 1.2 in January, suggesting employment levels moved somewhat lower.

On sectorial front, computer hardware stocks moved sharply higher, with the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index surging by 2.1 percent to a new record intraday high. Significant strength was also visible among steel stocks, as reflected by the 1.9 percent gain being posted by the NYSE Arca Steel Index. Airline, semiconductor and oil producer stocks were showing considerable strength on the day, while retail stocks have shown a notable move to the downside. 

Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 10.26 points or 0.02 percent to 44,556.34, Nasdaq added 14.49 points or 0.07 percent to 20,041.26 and S&P 500 was up by 14.95 points or 0.24 percent to 6,129.58.

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